Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire (1402-1934) was a nation that succeeded the Kingdom of Castile in 1402 and preceded modern Spain. Its history covered the eras of the Crown of Castile, Kingdom of Aragon, Kingdom of Granada, Kingdom of Asturias, and the Kingdom of Portugal, and saw Spain take over the Americas and parts of Asia.

History
Spain's empire first began with its conquest of the Canary Islands in 1402, turning the Kingdom of Castile into an empire. Spain further expanded its maps by launching exploration expeditions across the world, and in 1492 they explored the New World of North and South America, settling initially in the Caribbean before expanding their empire to most of the rest of North America. In 1519-1521 they conquered Mexico from the Aztec Empire. Their empire also conquered the Philippines, due to the efforts of Ferdinand Magellan.

Spain became a large empire that encompassed much of the world; in 1710, its possessions in northern South America, the Caribbean, Spain, and Italy alone had a total of 17,882,916 people. Its other possessions, including those in Africa, encompassed much more people. The Spanish missionaries spread Catholicism across the world, as well as their language.

Their empire ended in 1934 when the Kingdom of Spain was overthrown by the Republic of Spain shortly before the Spanish Civil War.